It’s worth watching Life After Death to see most of your favorite characters again. But the writing is losing its direction. The filmmakers’ claim they want Dead Like Me to live again. Then why do they resist describing the characters’ future in more depth? Being off the air for so long, a lengthy transition seems logical. George moving away from grieving about her past is significant. But mature or not, she can’t have run out of cutting criticisms. Dysfunctional families, corporate America, and modern life are still ripe targets for dark humor and fresh writing. This new film leaves fate of Dead Like Me in a mysterious and not very reassuring state.
The commentary features director Stephen Herek and Ellen Muth. It’s average--no huge gaps, but not overflowing with tons of details. The two have a professional attitude towards each other so don’t expect a lot of joking around. The revealing part of the piece is that I’ve been mispronouncing Ms. Muth’s name all these years. It’s Mew-th not Moo-th.
The behind-the-scenes featurette captures the cast getting back together and returning to their roles. The clip is very helpful at summarizing the movie’s approach to the two season-long storyline. Besides that, it’s the usual interviews with everybody on the set. At least it’s not filled with lots of people saying “It’s awesome to be working on this movie with such awesome people” It’s not so awesome for me. Thanks, but no thanks.
Grade: C+
Bonus Features Include:
Audio commentary with Director Stephen Herek and actress Ellen Muth
Back From The Dead: Resurrecting Dead Like Me
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